


M is for Monster

by HMS



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Play, Anal Sex, Dark Fantasy, Dildos, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, M/m where M is for Monster, Male rape, Multi, Princess saves the day, Rape Recovery, extreme non-con, porn w/o plot, what else can I tell you? I think you get the idea.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-15
Updated: 2012-11-15
Packaged: 2017-11-17 16:37:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/553660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMS/pseuds/HMS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Caroline's lover Sir Alec is doomed to a fate worse than death. Its all her fault but what can she do? He has been sentenced to a night with the Monsters who are known to do unspeakable things to their victims. </p><p>Can she save him? If she does, can he still love her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Princess Caroline paced her chambers, damnation! Her plan was foiled before it had even begun. The king was mad; he had completely lost his head. Just like her mother, although she had actually lost her head. The king had her convicted of treason.

What was she to do? Poor Sir Alec her beloved knight was sentenced to a fate worse than death, all because of her. The King was gravely ill and had been getting more crazy by the day. She had planned to take Sir Alec as her consort when the King died, and rule over the kingdom herself. She had admired him secretly since he had first appeared at court five years before as a beautiful, slightly shy but mischievous youth. Since then he had grown into a valiant and utterly desirable young knight. Unfortunately the king’s advisor's had got wind of their liaison and now he was putting a stop to it. He wanted her to marry a prince from another kingdom that she hadn’t even met.

She had paid a witch to ease the Kings death, and to hasten it if she was honest with herself. In his illness he had been rapidly deteriorating mentally and she was pretty sure she would be next on the chopping block if it carried on for much longer. The witch had said it would take a week or so to work and would make his current illness fatal without anyone guessing there had been any intervention. He had been suffering for some time now but he was not dying quickly enough!

He had flown into a rage about hers and Alec’s affair and accused him of treason. The penalty for treason was usually beheading but the King had decreed the unthinkable; a night spent with the Monsters in the caves. She had unwittingly brought her lover the most terrible of fates. There were many rumours about the Monsters, nothing could be confirmed as no-one lived to tell the tale, but from the damage done to the bodies found, it was unmistakable what the monsters used humans for. She blinked back tears as she thought of Alec’s beautiful body used so brutally and torn to pieces. She must do something, but what?

* * * * *

They bound his hands behind his back. He didn't struggle, what was the use? The shock of being found out and the cruelty of the punishment numbed him. He was so consumed with self-castigation at the idiocy of his actions that had brought him to this, he hardly noticed the old witch in the front row of the stands murmuring under her breath. What a fool he was to think he could consort with the Princess without word of it getting back to the King. Of course he had not instigated the liaison but that was hardly the point. He had totally forfeited the honour bestowed on him by the King as Knight of the realm. He was aware the Princess had regarded him favourably, even by the time he was knighted she had made that obvious. How naïve he had been.

He remembered back to when he had first kissed her. She had been dancing with a duke at a ball. She had looked stunning in a blue velvet dress with a low neckline and had had her golden hair piled elegantly on her head. He remembered her catching his eye and giving him a breath-taking smile. He had summoned the courage and stood at the edge of the crowd on the dance floor. They had locked eyes again and she had murmured an apology to the duke leaving him adrift while she made a beeline for Alec. They danced together and later sat drinking wine as she skilfully deflected all her other suitors. He suspected she had become adept at that. Later they had sneaked a kiss behind a screen away from prying eyes. He knew that had been the night that his distant admiration for her had turned into something altogether more tangible.

He hadn't managed to evade her clutches for very long, not that he’d really tried. She was very beautiful and unlike her father, kind and honest. If only he had been more circumspect, hadn't let her persuade him that no-one would find out. There were many who were jealous of him, who had watched with glee as he had been led to her chambers, now he would pay. This sentence was reserved for the most evil men who had committed heinous crimes; unfortunately the King had demanded the harshest and most degrading punishment, and who would say neigh to the King? His sentence would be a night with the Monsters who lived in the caves. No one was known to have survived the punishment, those that lived through the night were found so badly injured they died shortly after being discovered. Some bodies were found eviscerated, some bodies were never found at all.

The ritual sacrifice of human men to the Monsters had begun before anyone living remembered. Once a month a convict or a foreign prisoner of war was taken to the caves and bound to the stone at the entrance. The monsters only came out after dark and no-one dared to stay and watch but the next day soldiers came to collect what remained. The story went that in years before the sacrifices the monsters would come and attack settlements and eat hapless villagers. The sacrifices had been arranged to placate the monsters who accepted the monthly gift with alacrity and had never been known to attack any settlements nearby.


	2. Chapter 2

Alec slumped against the mouldy wall of his cell in the castles dungeons. He was trying desperately not to imagine the fate that awaited him, with little success. He had refused to see the Princess. The guards came unexpectedly the evening before his ‘execution’ as he had come to think of it and stripped his clothes off with no by or leave and then shackled him to the dungeon wall. He didn’t fight them, if they meant him harm there was really nothing he could do to stop them bound and outnumbered as he was. He was beyond caring anyhow. The Princess came into the room. He looked away and refused to acknowledge her. She was probably the only one who he should rightly accept comfort from but somehow he was too ashamed of his fate even to turn to her.

She approached and laid a hand on his shoulder. Gently stroking she pulled his hair back and kissed his neck. Shivering slightly he relaxed into her touch against his will. He could not deny his feelings for her, wrong though they might be. She had led him astray and made him betray his own honour, but she had also captured his heart. He hated her and loved her at the same time, but he knew he couldn’t blame her for his ominous fate. It was the Kings madness and jealousy that had him bound in this dungeon. She began arranging objects he couldn’t see behind him. He couldn’t speak, especially not to her. When she came back to him she wrapped her hand in his thick, dark brown hair and gently pulled his head to the side whispering in a choked sob that she was sorry for his fate and there was nothing she could do to help but this.

‘What is it that you mean to do?’ he asked, surprised out of his silence.

‘I have some knowledge of what the monsters do, and I have been told how one might survive their ... attentions’ she whispered.

‘You mean you asked the witch!’ he said horrified. ‘So now you will perform witchcraft on me the night before I am to be torn to pieces by monsters? I thank you for your kind thoughts but I’d rather be left alone!’

‘Relax for me my love, I am so sorry’ She gently laid her hand on his buttocks and parted one cheek. He startled and cursed as humiliation burned through him. She had ordered him chained like this as she knew he wouldn’t submit willingly to her ministrations once he realised what she meant to do. He had also heard the rumours of what the monsters did and it had not been far from his thoughts since he had learned of his sentence. She meant to violate him in some vain hope that it would somehow help when the monsters took him. He wanted to die as quickly as possible if such a thing were to happen, so her ‘help’ was definitely not welcome. He imparted this information straightforwardly and struggled violently.

She did not agree, and as he was chained he had no way to protect himself. What a conniving bitch she was. She pressed a slick finger inside him; he clenched his buttocks and twisted away to escape her. He then roared in outrage as her prying fingers followed him. He had willingly let her pleasure him so when they bedded together, and although he had been a little shocked the first time, he had to admit he had enjoyed it. This was different though, when faced with the horrific prospect of being raped to death by Monsters, this was not what he wanted reminding of. She cooed and soothed at him, determinedly pressing further in.

‘I want you to live Alec, I love you and I want you to be my Husband’

‘But…Agh!’ He choked, intensely aware of the second digit sliding further inside him and twisting uncomfortably.

‘I have asked the witch to curse him, he is dying. Not as soon as I had hoped unfortunately’

Alec was stunned.

‘So after seducing me and taking me to your bed, chaining and violating me, informing me that you use witchcraft and are a murderess to boot, you think I will willingly marry you?!’ His voice rose to a high pitch on the last words as a third finger joined its companions.

‘I don’t think Alec, I know’ She removed her hand. He grunted in discomfit. Speechless with indignation and fury at her assuredness, he gritted his teeth as she spread a cold lotion between his buttocks and worked it up inside him. He felt a large blunt object slide between his cheeks and press against his anus and he started to struggle again, cursing her as fouly as his extensive vocabulary allowed.

‘Relax for me my love, push down on it as if...’ He cut her off with a strangled

‘SHUT UP WOMAN!’ and continued to tell her what she might do with the phallic object, including choking to death on it.

‘You’ll only hurt yourself more if you don’t relax’ she pleaded. As he took a breath to answer her she pushed the head of the phallus inside him, and he cried out, half in surprise half in pain. She held it inside him unmoving letting him get used to it as he panted and cursed. Slowly but firmly she pushed harder. He moaned as his anus stretched wider accepting the intrusion. It slid smoothly, cold and hard inside his belly. Sweat beaded on his brow and he groaned as she slid it in and out of him, carefully but thoroughly stretching him. She pushed the whole length inside him and left it there as she started rubbing oil on his back. She massaged his back as he remained sullenly silent, thoroughly humiliated.

Sometime later she removed the phallus and worked her fingers inside him again, only she didn’t stop there. He shook with mingled shock and pain and not a small amount of strange pleasure he could not and did not want to name as she worked her fingers and thumb into his rectum. He cried out as she pushed her whole fist into his stretched channel and kept pushing in further. She slowly withdrew her hand, and applied more grease and repeated the procedure again and again until he could hardly stand his legs shook so much. His begging seemed to win a reprieve as she slowly extracted her arm. He almost cried with relief until he heard a clattering behind him and he tried to turn his head far enough to see what she was doing. His heart leapt to his mouth when he caught sight of the most enormous phallus on the table. She was smearing it with grease. He cried and pleaded in earnest now; surely he had been degraded enough, what did it mater now if he begged?

‘I am so sorry Alec, but I know the monsters are 10 feet tall and are very large all over. Even bigger than this’, she held the phallus up. Christ it was enormous!

‘In fact almost twice the size of this’, she stopped suddenly as she realised the effect it was having on Alec. He looked very pale indeed.

‘If I don’t prepare you, you will bleed to death as all the others have’. Alec rested his forehead on the stone wall in front of him.

‘Caroline’ he hissed, ‘even if I survived this, which I desperately hope not to, the monsters would eat me afterwards anyway’

‘They won’t Alec; the witch said you would live’

‘What if I don’t want to!? How am I to live with the humiliation? Everyone will know what has happened to me. I can’t bear it Caroline!’ Tears actually escaped and he blinked them away fiercely.

‘When you are the Queens consort Alec, no one will dare to say anything about it. We can tell a story of how you defeated them by yourself, no one will be there to see what happens’ She pleaded.  
‘I will know, and so will you’ he said flatly.

Undefeated, the Princess came and kissed his beautiful muscular back, tears streaming down her face as she pressed the head of the phallus between his cheeks. When she had worked the whole phallus inside him and he had stopped screaming, she unchained him and helped him lie down on his side trying to make him as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.

She looked down on him when he had closed his eyes, exhausted and her heart flipped as it always did at the sight of his beautiful face, high cheekbones, long dark lashes, incongruously soft sensual lips and a strong jawline. But this time as she thought of his straining muscular body, she could only imagine the awful premonition the witch had shown her in her crystal sighting ball. She had seen the Monsters, had seen the unspeakable terror in his lovely green eyes, and had heard him scream as they attacked.

* * * * *


	3. Chapter 3

Alec lay thoroughly miserable, exhausted and also incredibly uncomfortable on the floor. The pain had subsided to a dull ache in his belly, as long as he didn’t move. He felt as if he were impaled on a tree trunk and reflected sourly that that wasn’t far from the truth. The strips of fabric the Princess had bound around his groin to hold the phallus in place were making his legs go numb. The Princess had covered him with a fur hide, and rolled his clothes into a ball under his head and told him if he so much as though about freeing himself from the phallus she would go through the entire procedure again. She parted with a kiss on his forehead and put the witches charm around his neck. He was angry and ashamed and more afraid than ever about the monsters but he decided the Princess, though misguided was trying to keep him alive. He wished she had been more merciful and slipped him some poison.

He drifted in and out of an unconsciousness that couldn’t really be called sleep, and as the first rays of light flooded the cell he rolled onto his back and froze instantly. The pain in his back passage was shocking, his stomach cramped and he wrestled with the cloth ties to get the phallus out of him. Just as he managed to loosen the ties he doubled over as his stomach cramped again. The phallus slide free and he managed to rush to the chamber pot just as he lost control of his bowls. The guard peered in and a little while later a chamber maid came in with hot water and soap. She told him she’d been instructed to clean him and prepare him again. He snatched the cloth from her with a snarl and administered the hot water and soap himself. Unfortunately she would not leave until the phallus had been replaced. After a short battle which Alex lost he found himself on hands and knees, legs spread and face burning in humiliation on the Princesses orders. The insertion was less painful the second time, but the girl, as red faced as Alec, dutifully withstood a barrage of verbal abuse. He vowed if he survived he would never forgive the Princess. He lay for the rest of the day dignity in tatters, uncomfortable and increasingly fearful of the approaching evening.

Finally, before the sun went down the guards collected him from the cell. They seemed sympathetic which surprised him as he had expected to be looked upon with disgust. After a few shaky steps, they hoisted him up between them and carried him to the caves fur and all. Along the way they plied him with the rough whisky they kept in their flasks. Even so, by the time they got to the caves Alec was shaking badly. Regretfully the guards lifted him onto the stone and tied his hands to the manacles above his head. Alec watched them leave and with tears rolling down his face he started praying, something which was entirely new to him.

* * * * *

It seemed like an eternity before it grew dark and he exhausted himself straining to hear any possible movement from within the cave. Nothing stirred for what seemed like hours and he was having faint hopes of escaping alive when suddenly he heard a low growl from within the cave. Alex felt his heart almost leap out of his chest and he whimpered in terror, struggling ineffectually against the manacles. More growls followed and he closed his eyes. A shrieking howl close by startled him into opening them and he regretted it immediately. From what he could make out in the moonlight the beast before him was huge and indescribably fearsome. It stood at over 10 feet tall and was sort of a mix between a man and a wolf. It had a muscular chest and arms with huge hands and sharp looking claws. It strode in a gaited walk on powerful haunches, it leapt towards him and he screamed in terror. The creatures observed him coolly with ice blue eyes, and grinned to show rows of sharp teeth. Tentatively it stretched its huge tongue out and licked his chest. Its eyes rolled back and it let out a chilling howl to the moon.

Another monster padded forward and nuzzled its muzzle at his side, licking his armpit. Frozen in fear he lay limply as first one then the other licked and nuzzled him, tasting he thought. As his heart pounded in his chest he thought that quite possibly it might just stop working altogether. One beast was chewing at the straps holding the phallus in place. As it came loose it gripped the end between its teeth and yanked it out. Alec didn’t have time to feel relieved as the beast lapped between his buttocks and thrust its tongue inside him.

After the initial shock and revulsion passed it felt very strange indeed, hot and slick and nothing like the phallus. It spread his legs wide holding him open and vulnerable and forced its long tongue deep inside him exploring. Alec held his breath and closed his eyes so he didn’t see the sharp teeth resting against his belly gripping him slightly. Finally the beast released him and withdrew its tongue. As it stood on its hind legs, Alec saw with horror the beast’s massive erection. It was as long and thick as a man’s upper arm and the head was the size of a grapefruit. It stood rigid and firm oozing fluid from the slit. As the beast stepped closer, Alec completely panicked, he struggled and thrashed and screamed. The beasts caught his leg and flipped him unceremoniously onto his stomach.

Alec continued to scream as his legs were pushed wide open and his hips were pulled upwards and held still by the clawed hands. He felt a warning grip of teeth on his neck as the length slide between his legs and there was an immense pressure hot and insistent between his cheeks. For long moments nothing happened but the pressure grew worse and slowly he felt his bruised anus give way as the beast began to enter him. The beast was pushing inside him and withdrawing slightly after each thrust. Alec was held still and helpless, sweating and whimpering as the enormous length slid in and out, at some point the beast stopped withdrawing and slid forward without pausing. Alec screamed, the pain was incredible as he felt his innards give way. The beast paused, its pubic bone digging into the cleft of Alec’s buttocks, its whole length sheathed in his belly. He felt so incredibly stretched and vulnerable, held open and at the beasts mercy.

After a while the beast withdrew but immediately started pumping in and out with such force Alec couldn’t catch a breath to scream. His vision blurred and he couldn’t hear his own sobs just the panting breath in his ear. He was completely overwhelmed by the force of the beast and hung like a rag doll unresisting taking everything the beast gave him, suddenly his vision blacked completely and his whole body convulsed in a rictus of agonised crisis. An intense sensation that bordered on pleasure and heat emanated from his bowels and his guts clenched as much as they could around the massive intrusion. He had no idea what had just happened and he had a vague thought he might be dying.

Before he could tell what was happening, the beast shoved into him violently and he felt great waves of hot spurting liquid inside him. The beast roared in satisfaction and held itself deep inside Alec rocking gently. A great wave of sickness overtook Alec and he gagged, vomited and promptly passed out. The beast released him to lie insensible on the rock.

As he lay unconscious the beasts took their pleasure of him, enjoying his pleasant taste and his hot tight channel. He didn’t bleed as much as any of the other gifts the humans left, this was altogether better, they argued about who’s turn is was and about the possibility of keeping him as a pet. They were glad the humans didn’t leave females for them anymore; they emitted very high pitched noises that tickled their ears unbearably. The last time a female had been presented, their clan had had to hide in the caves until the screaming had stopped. They then had to forage in the nearest village for more suitable prey.

Eventually they managed to lick him awake into a half conscious state. The leader of their group turned him on his back and pinned his thighs tightly to his chest. He positioned his erection at the now gaping hole between the human’s legs and thrust home. The human screamed hoarsely.

Alec came back into consciousness into the worst nightmare imaginable. He was on his back with his knees under his chin, the monsters weight was crushing him into the rock, and its gigantic cock was up his ass. He looked between his legs expecting to see blood and gore everywhere, the sight before him was horrific enough. His body was bent into a position where his parted buttocks were pitilessly exposed and accessible to the monster. His muscular thighs seemed only slightly thicker than the vast thing erupting from between his cheeks. He looked on in horror at the girth of the monsters penis, stretching him grotesquely, sliding further and further in until the monsters groin pressed hard against his spread buttocks. He wondered briefly where his internal organs were or if the monster had eaten them already. The monster growled in pleasure and the noised reverberated inside Alec’s belly.

He lay quivering, impaled hopelessly and as the monster started fucking him in slow rhythmic thrusts, still growling, Alec lost control completely and keened through his teeth as his muscles convulsed from the inside out. The monster roared and fucked him brutally until finally it climaxed and filled his belly with cum. When the Monster withdrew at last, Alec lay shaking in shock covered in the monsters drool. He curled into a ball, and felt sticky liquid run between his legs. Panicking that his insides were coming out, he looked and saw the thick whitish mucus tinged with pink forming a pool underneath him. The strong musky smell that coated him made his gorge rise and he vomited again.

* * * * *


	4. Chapter 4

Caroline insisted on accompanying the rescue party to retrieve Alec, She had had an utterly sleepless night and had been worried sick, literally. Now a cold hard dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Although she trusted the witch implicitly and believed that Alec would survive, she didn’t know in what state that would be. How could he recover from this, physically and mentally? She put her faith in the witch, she would make him better. She had made a bargain with the witch in return for saving Alex, once she was Queen she would rule it illegal to burn witches and would make it legal to perform and make a living from white witchcraft.

They drew closer to the caves and she saw a naked figure curled in a ball on a huge stone at the entrance, she ran towards him at full tilt and then skidded to a halt in horror. He was extremely pale and covered in blood from small lacerations. His hands were bound and his wrists were bleeding.

‘My darling, poor Alec!’ she cried clambering up on to the rock to get close to him. Ugh! He smelt strongly of musk, and also rather like a wet dog, undeterred she brushed his hair away from his face and tried to rouse him. Having no luck she began to panic and quickly checked for a pulse, oh thank god! Weak but still there; she cradled him close and cooed soothingly at him while the soldiers tried to untie his hands. She was relieved when they lifted him that there wasn’t a river of blood cascading over the stone as she had imagined. There was dried blood between his thighs though and she pulled the fur skin around him to cover him and let the soldiers drag him off the stone. She had sworn the soldiers to silence and also threatened them with the same fate as Alec if what they’d seen was ever mentioned again. She was sure they were suitably terrified after seeing the result.  
He didn’t regain consciousness on the journey home and Caroline was part relieved and part terrified in case he never woke up. The witch was waiting in her chambers and they laid him on her huge four poster bed. She had had her maids prepare poultices and supplies to tend his wounds as per the witch’s instructions.

The witch shooed the maids from the room and bolted the door. They carefully unwrapped Alec from the fur skin and laid him out on the bed. There was fresh blood between his legs and Caroline choked on a sob. Poor man! She gently wiped a wet cloth over him, getting rid of the blood and the disgusting smell. The witch bustled about humming to herself. Caroline’s nerves were frayed beyond belief and she nearly snapped at the witch to be quite, but she caught herself just in time. She realised the witch was chanting and making a healing incantation. She pressed Alec’s jaw open with her fingers and dripped some of the concoction into his mouth with a soaked cloth. She continued chanting and pressed her hands to his chest and stomach. Caroline couldn’t be sure but she though she saw a faint glow haloing her hands. Alec stirred a little and moaned, but didn’t open his eyes. Caroline clutched his hand but it was slack.

‘It’s better if he sleeps for a few days dear, he’ll be in too much pain if he wakes’

Caroline nodded blindly. All she wanted was for him to wake and tell her he was OK and everything would be fine, but she knew deep down that was impossible.

They rolled him onto his stomach, Caroline sucked in a shocked breath and the witch grimaced as they saw the blood and what could only be described as teeth marks on his back. Caroline’s stomach churned and she thought for a few moments she couldn’t hold it together, but she had to. She had to for Alec’s sake. She dutifully grasped the wet cloth and set about wiping him down. She concentrated on his strong back, the way his muscles curved over his shoulders and biceps, the deep indentation of his spine and the golden skin that now had a slightly ashen cast to it. The witch gestured impatiently and she realised she had been lingering on the upper part of him for a while now, putting of the inevitable.

‘Best to get it done now dearie, the sooner I can work on him the sooner he’ll heal’

Caroline took a deep breath for courage and rinsed her cloth out meticulously. He was covered in deep bruises and scratches that seemed all the worse as she moved the cloth over them cleaning the dirt away. She wiped over his buttocks which were covered in dried slime and then with the witches help parted his legs to work on the most damaged area. She parted his cheeks gently and tears brimmed in her eyes as she saw what the monsters had wrought. His entrance was still very open and swollen looking, and covered in blood and gore. She gently pressed the cloth to him and was glad when he gave no reaction, still unconscious thank god. The witch looked on silently and eventually she moved to have a closer look.

‘Hmm’ she said thoughtfully, ‘see the edges of the opening are uneven? That means the muscle is torn, that will take a while to heal’ with that depressing insight, she began her ministrations, dabbing ointment here, wiping lotion there and then much to Caroline’s horror, she coated her hand in the magic concoction and pressed her fingers inside him.

‘What are you doing? You’ll damage him further!’ she said alarmed.

‘No dear, it is not only the lotion that heals, it is my power. The lotion just directs the energy. Maybe you should turn away while I finish the healing?’

‘I err...no it’s OK as long as you’re sure’ Caroline said uncertainly as the witch’s hand slid slowly into Alec. Caroline winced in sympathy.

* * * * *


	5. Chapter 5

Alec’s first groggy thought as he regained consciousness was that he wished he hadn’t, everything hurt. The Princess sat close by, he could smell her lovely scent. He cracked an eye and recognised the Princesses chamber. He closed the eye and hoped no one had noticed he was awake. No such luck, she gasped and he felt her weight shift the mattress as she climbed next to him. Resigned, he opened his eyes and her concerned face looked down upon him. He blinked up at her, had he really survived? Tears filled her eyes and she clasped his hand and squeezed. He closed his eyes again, he was so tired. Caroline was talking to him but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. He realised he had a headache and he was very hot, he passed out again.

* * * * *

On his second attempt at consciousness, he opened his eyes to find an old hag rubbing some ointment on his stomach. He flinched as she looked up at him, by god she was a fright with white hair she looked at least 100 years old. Then he realised she must be the witch, he had her to thank for his life. As he came to, she made soothing sounds and stroked his hair back from his face. He realised he was incredibly uncomfortable, and the pain was mostly coming from his belly, he was still hot. The witch mopped his brow with a cool wet cloth and muttered some strange words. He fell back to sleep quickly.

A few days later his fever broke and he stayed awake long enough to talk to the Princess. The King had finally died. It had been concluded that the death had been from ‘natural causes’. The Princess was obviously relieved and Alec wondered who’s side the King’s physician had been on. She asked him how he felt, a most unwelcome question. He said he was ‘not bad, considering’ which in the circumstances was about as positive as he could manage. The Princess stayed by his side night and day and the witch prodded and poked him and tied new charms around his neck every day ‘for peaceful rest’ she said when questioned.

After a few more days he felt a little better, but only physically. The fog had cleared from his head but he felt increasingly depressed. Not even the Princesses chatter could draw him out and he noticed when she thought he wasn’t looking, her face was drawn and sad.

He was ashamed, he had been thoroughly violated in the worst possible way and his pride and sense of manhood had been totally destroyed. He knew he was not an honourable man any longer and that he could never face the court or lead an army again. His self-respect had been lost irrevocably to the monsters. He wanted to tell Caroline to leave him alone; he couldn’t face everyone’s pitying concern for him, and their disgust.

* * * * *

Caroline became more and more concerned about him, it seemed as soon as he looked like he was on the road to recovery physically he was deteriorating mentally. He seemed morose, depressed, wouldn’t speak unless spoken to and even then in monosyllables. This wasn’t like him at all; normally he was lively and witty. She knew she shouldn’t expect too much and told herself to be patient but she was so worried. She asked the witches advice.

‘Well dear, it’s hardly to be expected that damage to the mind would heal the same as to the body. It’s not really my field of expertise in terms of magic but I can give you practical advice’

The Princess nodded enthusiastically, any help was most welcome as she was completely out of her depth.

‘First of all I have been giving him charms to stop the memories, I have been giving him less doses as he heals as it’s not healthy to keep the memory suppressed unnaturally for too long. I will still give him the charms at night so he doesn’t dream about it, but you will have to help him through the day. Firstly you need to reassure him that your view of him hasn’t changed; you must make it quite clear exactly how wonderful you think he is. I would never normally recommend such frankness with a man as their egos hardly ever need bolstering, but this case is an exception. As soon as he’s ready you must resu…’ (Here she coughed) ‘Begin conjugal relations once married as this will also help improve his… err…sense of well-being’ the witch winked lewdly.

‘You must remember his self-esteem will be extremely low and he has to rebuild it for himself, you can only show him the way. He must also talk about it, its cathartic; you know a problem shared is a burden halved, etc. As the medicine wears off he may suffer from sudden memories of the attack and panic. This is all normal for a mind healing itself, tell him so.

Possibly the most important thing of all is when he’s ready, make him feel needed. Give him a sense of purpose in a project that you absolutely cannot manage without him. This will help to repair his self-confidence, and give his ego a much needed boost’

The princess thanked the witch and tried to make a mental note of all the advice. It was quite a lot to take in and she wondered how she would fare. She thought it all over again and again and began to formulate a plan.

* * * * *

The Princess tried in vain to get Alec talking about the monsters, eventually she resorted to getting him drunk on brandy before he would talk at all. After a few hours of skirting round the subject and the Princess using all her charm and force of personality, she finally managed to get him to open up a little.

‘I’m just so tired Caroline. It tires me so much just the thought of it. I try not to think about it but it keeps coming back to me, not vividly but just the fear. I feel so… ashamed’

‘What have you to possibly be ashamed off? You were unjustly sentenced by the King, you had no choice in the matter and you survived, end of story. I know of no other man who could possibly have survived such an attack, you’re a hero!’

‘I feel so worthless, so disgusting I cannot begin to tell you’

‘You are not disgusting, you are beautiful and courageous and brave and I love you more now than I ever have’ Caroline retorted firmly ‘and furthermore, nothing you tell me can change that. You must at least try to talk to me about it, it will help I promise.’

‘Is that what the witch told you?’

‘Yes actually it is, and I believe her, so must you.’

Alec was silent, brooding. Finally he pressed his lips together grimly.

‘I don’t understand why you aren’t disgusted by me after what happened.’ He motioned her to be quiet as she was about to interrupt, ‘if I tell you the details, how can I ever be a man in your eyes? Surely you cannot love me after that.’

‘Alec, I can and I will, nothing could possibly put me off you, believe me.’

Painfully Alec started to tell her heavily edited snippets of things he remembered. He was pretty vague about the actual attack but described the monsters and how he had felt on the journey there. Caroline was relieved, she was sure this was progress.

* * * * *

That night she was woken by a piercing scream and thrashing in the bed next to her. She only just escaped a flying fist before she managed to pin the flailing arm down and shake Alec awake. Alec stared up at her from a white face, eyes wide in fear.

‘Sweetheart, it was a nightmare, your safe… your safe’

After she fetched him a restorative glass of wine, she managed to persuade him to tell her what had happened. He had been dreaming of the monster, being pinned down and helpless. The cold blue eyes had been laughing at him; the revolting musk smell surrounded him. She listened with growing horror as he recounted the dream. Finally he flopped down wearily on the pillow and sighed unhappily.

‘You probably won’t believe it but the witch said that when you re live traumatic events it means the mind is healing itself. It may not seem like it but it is actually progress’

Alec huffed in a non-committal way, clearly unconvinced.

* * * * *


	6. Chapter 6

Night after night he had nightmares until they were both so exhausted they slept in the afternoon most days. Little by little Alec recounted the dreams to her and she built up a mental picture of the night with the monsters real and imagined.

Just when Alec felt he couldn’t go on any longer there seemed to be a reprieve. Gradually peaceful nights interspersed the nightmares and slowly they became less frequent.

Alec’s spirits started to show signs of improvement and Caroline decided that next phase of recovery had to begin soon. She had been in mourning for over 4 months now, and although she had been keeping up to date with the paperwork and having private meetings with her royal advisors she was sorely missed at court and desperately needed to show her face. They had both stayed sequestered in her apartments as Alec had felt unable to face anyone but the maids and the witch of course. The people needed to be sure of their next monarch and she must be coroneted as soon as possible to stop any other claims to the throne. It was probably too soon for Alec to handle but she must try.

‘Alec sweetheart, I need to talk to you urgently about grave matters’ She sat on the bed and looked at him earnestly. You know the King is dead and I am now in official mourning? Well, that can’t last forever. To be honest with you Alec, I’m terrified, there is a whole kingdom waiting for a new monarch and, well… I simply can’t do it without you’ she gave him her most hopeful expression teamed with a tentative smile.

Alec raised an eyebrow sceptically, but played along.

‘So Princess Caroline will be Queen? How could you possibly need my help? You have a hundred advisors and a public who is in love with you, how can they not be after the monstrous old King?’

‘Because dear Sir Knight I know nothing about affairs of war and such like, I need someone I can trust to advise me’

‘So you’re offering me an advisory position?’

Caroline lost her patience, ‘No stupid!’ She batted his arm playfully, ‘I’m asking you to be my husband, Queens consort. What do you say?’

Alec’s face fell, ‘I’ll have to think about it. To be honest Caroline I just don’t know if I’m up to it. I don’t know if I can face the other courtiers, or the general public. Not after… you know what.’ he finished lamely.

‘Well they all know you’re a hero’ she smiled playfully.

‘Hardly’ he snorted, and then caught her mischievous look. ‘What have you been up to? I know that look.’

‘Well let’s just say the soldiers who witnessed the aftermath of the event have been extolling your heroism. Apparently three of the monsters lay slain on the floor when they arrived in the morning. They found you half dead in the woods where you had fallen after chasing the rest of the monsters away’ she smiled.

He was flabbergasted, ‘but the monsters are still there! What happens when they attack a local village?’

‘Well obviously one man cannot keep the whole herd away, it is enough that you managed to fight a few off’

‘But I didn’t’ he said hopelessly.

‘Not the point, you have given them hope. I think one of the first things I will do as Queen, apart from marry you, is send a few hundred men to destroy or at least permanently chase off the beasts, would you like to lead the party? I think if you weren’t tied up and had suitable armour and weapons you might fare a little better against them. What do you say to that?’

Alec looked intense for a moment, fear warring with determination on his face.

‘Yes… yes I think I would like that very much’

‘Good’ said Caroline as if it was already done. ‘I think my father didn’t try very hard to get rid of the monsters as it was a very good deterrent for anyone who disagreed with him’

‘Has the witch had any premonitions about such an event?’ Alec asked curiously.

‘She might have…’ Caroline grinned.

‘Can I ask if the omens are on our side?’

‘Would I be suggesting such a thing if they weren’t?’ She exclaimed.

Alec chuckled; the thought of vengeance against the creatures lifted his spirits immeasurably.

‘So is my answer to your proposal a forgone conclusion then? He grinned.

‘Yes dearest, I’m afraid it is, do you mind terribly?’

Alec grabbed her and squeezed her tightly against his chest as their mouths met in a passionate kiss. Caroline wondered distractedly if Alec might now be ready to ‘consummate’ their union (again).

* * * * *

The End


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